Citing its importance in national security, X-energy Reactor Company said it had entered into an agreement to provide the U.S. Department of Defense with nuclear microreactors.
X-energy said the agreement with the DOD’s Defense Innovation Unit and the U.S. Department of the Air Force would advance the development of a commercial microreactor to provide the military with a safe and secure power nuclear power source as part of the Advanced Nuclear Power for Installations (ANPI) program. The program is designed, officials said, to accelerate next-generation microreactor technology deployment and to provide resilient, secure power at military installations. The agreement also allows the Air Force to engage with X-energy under a flexible contracting mechanism that allows for faster nuclear system development and deployment.
“We’re seeing the full force of federal partnership mobilized to bring advanced nuclear to market, and the leadership of the Trump Administration has been phenomenal,” J. Clay Sell, X-energy CEO, said. “X-energy is proud to be a leader, and a partner with this administration to support America’s energy leadership.”
Officials said the agreement aligns with the Trump administration’s goal of deploying an advanced reactor at a military installation before the end of the decade. As part of the effort, X-energy will demonstrate commercial microreactors can deliver resilient and secure energy to defense infrastructures and remote microgrids.
The company’s XENITH product is a high-temperature gas-cooled microreactor first developed for the DOD’s Project Pele, a mobile microreactor. The products design was selected to continue into an enhanced engineering phase, and the project was directed to focus on achieving preliminary design maturity and initiating pre-licensing engagement with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission for military and commercial applications. X-energy is also advancing the deployment of its Xe-100, a high temperature gas-cooled reactor for utilities, industrial customers and hyperscalers. The company said it is also constructing a first-in-the-nation advanced nuclear fuel fabrication facility to manufacture its proprietary fuel.